Denny Elwell
Chairman of the Board, Denny Elwell Company
Ankeny, IA 50021
A life long resident of Iowa and entrepreneur, Denny is the current Chairman of Denny Elwell Company.
Phone (515) 964-1587
A life long resident of Iowa and entrepreneur, Denny is the current Chairman of Denny Elwell Company.
Property Types
Office
Markets
Des Moines
Bio
What is now a prominent real estate company was sprung from the humble beginnings of a small town Iowa boy.
Denny started young with customer service and hard work in the family grocery store. He spent his days working in the butcher shop at Elwell Family Food Mart. This ignited his interest for entrepreneurship as he embarked in the retail automotive business. Denny established his business career with six tire stores in the Des Moines and Ames areas. The sale of this company in 1982, allowed Denny to focus on the operation of the larger, Dee Zee Manufacturing. Dee Zee fabricates pick up truck running boards and auto accessories. This "little" venture erupted into an international manufacturing company immediately and in 1987 Denny sold Dee Zee to a Fortune 500 company, Lancaster Colony.
Following the sale of Dee Zee, Denny emerged himself full time into commercial real estate and thus established Denny Elwell Company. Over the last 25 years he has transformed central Iowa with his business parks and commercial and retail developments, bringing in such large companies as Tones Spices, Casey's Headquarters and Target Corporation. Today, the company which started in Ankeny has now progressed into a major commercial real estate company.
The years of support from the community throughout his business venture years have not gone unnoticed as Denny supports many local organizations. These include, but are not limited to: The Iowa State Fair, Meals from the Heartland, The United Way of Central Iowa, The Science Center of Iowa and many others.
Most recently Denny was named one of "2013 Most Influential Business Leaders" by the readers of the Business Record, "Small Business Man of the Year" and "Outstanding Citizen of the Year" by the City of Ankeny for 2012 and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Putco Manufacturing, Inc. and Classic Ice, LLC.
In his spare time, Denny enjoys traveling with his wife, Candy and spending time with his children and grandchildren.